


The Crown Placed Upon One's Head

by extremelyperturbed



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Drama, Greek Mythology - Freeform, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-05-16
Packaged: 2018-03-26 07:48:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3842806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/extremelyperturbed/pseuds/extremelyperturbed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on a kinkmeme I requested but nobody developed:</p><p>Based on the Minotaur legend. Jack is Theseus who kills the monster but abandons Will on an island who helped him kill it. It is often said that the god Dionysus told him to in a dream. Will is comforted by the God who set it up that way.</p><p>Eventual Hannigram but first part is basically Will-centric with Will playing the Ariadne role.  I'm also assuming you know the Minotaur legend enough so that you know it's a product of a woman and a bull.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“You’re leaving him there?” said Beverly. She had seen Jack leave a sleeping Will on the beach and get back on the ship to Athens.

“I have to,” said Jack. “One of the gods came to me in a dream and told him to leave him there, that he would be safe.”

Beverly narrowed her eyes. “That’s rather convenient, don’t you think?”

“I am a man of my word. I did not want to break it,” said Jack. 

“He saved all our lives. He told you how to kill the monster and get out of the Labyrinth in one piece,” she said.

“I know that! But the gods do not like to be disobeyed. Even if the god has evil intentions, how do I fight him? Besides, he promised that Will would be unharmed.” Jack turned to the other people on the ship. “Unfurl the sails!”

***  
Will woke to find himself alone. He looked around and saw that the ship was miles away from shore. He stood up and was about to shout when he figured that it was useless to do so. Strangely, he did not feel that surprised at being abandoned. 

***  
Twelve Years Ago

His mother Pasiphae was nursing the bull-headed monster at her breast and cooing at it. He had heard his father sourly note that wet nurses had suckled their human children. It would seem her mad passion extended not only to the bull but to the product of their coupling. His father snatched the baby monster from her lap and was about to dash its brains out against the wall.

“No, it’s your curse that brought me so low,” the woman wailed as she tried to restrain him. “If you had only sacrificed the bull like you promised, I would not be this way.”

Minos paused because deep down, he knew this was true. He had promised Poseidon that he would sacrifice the bull to him if he would support him in his bid to be king but Minos had wanted to keep the bull once he saw how beautiful it was. His cupidity, however, had gained him nothing. The bull not only refused to breed with any of the cows of his herd but had bred his wife instead. Now the bull was far too dangerous to be killed easily and sacrificed. His wife's destructive passion for it was a warped parody of his own former desire to possess it. “I won’t kill him but I won’t have my shame made public. Guards, get Daedalus! I have a project for him.”

“No,” wailed his mother as Minos threw the bleating calf to the guards who took it away. She kept on wailing until she fell over from exhaustion. 

From that day on, she paid little attention to Will and her other children but pined for the baby beast even after hearing it had ripped off the finger of an unwary soldier and eaten it. His father gruffly told Will that his mother was mad and that he was old enough that he should spend more time with his tutor anyway. His only real friend was Matthew, a fellow student who often dreamed of becoming like a bird and flying away from the kingdom. His friend liked to give him little trinkets his father Daedalus would invent like a ball of kite string that would never snap no matter how much you used it or how sharp the thorns and rocks were when the kite would fall upon the ground. He also gave him a sword that could cut through a column of marble as a birthday present. 

However, his father was just as paranoid as he was stern and he imprisoned Matthew and his father in a tower to keep the Labyrinth‘s twists and turns a secret. Of course, Matthew’s father would find a way to escape. Will had been at the beach looking at the tower when he saw what appeared to be two large birds fly from it. As the two birds came closer to where he was, he realized he was seeing father and son flee using wings created by Daedalus. He cheered and waved to show his support, only to scream when he saw Matthew flying further and further up until the sun melted the wax in his wings so they fell apart. Matthew plunged into the sea and never came back up. Meanwhile, his father could not stop and mourn but continue to fly to parts unknown. 

What little time his father had left over from ruling was usually spent with his oldest brother Androgeus, someone who was like a younger version of their father. He was the heir and the one his father loved most. It was the slaying of that brother by jealous Athenians that made his father wage war against the other city state. His brother had gone to Athens to participate in the Panathenic Games that accepted competitors all over Greece. He had won each game: boxing, wrestling, pentathlon and chariot racing, something he hoped would please their father but only brought down deadly anger and spite from the other competitors. After much of their navy lay at the bottom of the sea, Athens sued for peace. Minos had demanded a yearly tribute of seven youths and seven maidens to be sent to Crete to be killed so that Athenians would know exactly how he felt. 

Will had begged his father not to do this. “We have crushed them. Is that not enough?”

His father had scowled and said, “And you call yourself his brother?” 

“It is one thing to behead them with a sword but to be eaten by the Minotaur?”

“Athenians deserve no better.” In Minos' eyes, the Athenians had not only murdered his son but compounded it by acting as hosts who treacherously killed their guests. 

During the night that the sacrifices were pushed into the labyrinth. Will could imagine that he heard their screams even though his bedroom was nowhere near the entrance. After the screams had died off, he would hear his father weeping not only for his lost son but the fact that he had shut up his wife in the same tower as he had Daedalus and Matthew because he could no longer bring himself to touch her. 

It was the third year that Will saw someone that he thought could actually take on the monster. “You don’t look like a youth,” he said to the man with the broad shoulders and the low voice. The sacrifices were sitting in a pit before being led to the slaughter. The prince had told the guard that he wanted to taunt the prisoners before their doom and to leave him alone to talk. 

“I’m big for my age,” said Jack. 

“You’ll never figure your way out of the labyrinth unless I help you.”

“Why would you help us?” said Jack, looking suspicious.

“Because I’m tired of hearing the screaming of the victims even if it’s only in my imagination and I want to leave this place.”

“Won’t your father hate losing another son?”

Will scoffed. “Trust me, to him, I’m not worth fighting for. Without my help, you’ll die.”

“My people need all the help they can get.”

“I managed to pay the man who brings the Minotaur his usual food to hide a sword just inside the labyrinth. It’s under the diamond shaped rock. Also, you’ll need this.” 

Jack looked at the ball of thread Will dropped into his hands from above. “What is it for?”

“It’s a ball of unbreakable string. You use it so you can trace your way back to the entrance. You tie it to something fixed near the entrance of the maze. There’s little point in killing the monster if you die lost in the passages. If the soldiers ask you why you have a ball of string, just tell them it’s a good luck charm.”

“You’ve planned this most carefully.”

“When you see the monster, kill him quickly and cleanly. You can hate him all you want but he can’t help being what he is.”

“I plan on killing him quickly but no man eating beast takes kindly to being slain. You pity him?”

“I have reason to hate him but the way he lives, I would wish on no one.”


	2. Chapter 2

Jack looked down at the beast. Its head had been easily severed from its neck by the sword that had been hidden where Will had told him. For Miriam, he thought as he put the sword in the scabbard after wiping off the blood on his tunic. Miriam had been one of the sacrificial maidens in the previous year, and a good friend of his. The others had tried to convince him to simply escape but he could not go without killing the monster that killed her. And he wanted Minos to know that his pet monster was dead and that by granting him victory, the gods had enough of this bloodshed.

Will was at the harbor with the boat as promised. Jack said, “If they catch us, I will say that you were a hostage. At least I can do that much.”

“How about we try not to get caught?” said Will.

As the ship was meant for short day-trips and not long journeys, it was decided that they would stop at Naxos before completing their journey to Athens. They could only hope that the small size would actually work in their favor as it would make them harder to find. 

Once they had lost sight of Crete, Jack excused himself by saying that fighting the Minotaur had utterly exhausted him. Everybody sympathized and reassured him that they had everything under control. He went below deck and found a small room where there was a table and a chair. All I need is a few moments of rest, he thought.

It seemed that he was only asleep a short time when he found himself in the middle of a forest, standing before a robed man who was wearing a crown of grape vines and holding a fennel staff tipped with a pine cone. “Jack, prince of Athens, I congratulate you on your conquest. It will be a heroic deed talked about thousands of years from now.”

“Who are you?”

“I am one of the gods. My name is Hannibal.”

“If I have displeased the gods by slaughtering that beast, let me be the one to pay the price, not the others.” Jack knew that the gods were cruel when offended and that gods often had the strangest tastes when it came to favorites.

The god shook his head. “No, they approve of what you did. I have a favor to ask of you. I want you to leave Will on Naxos.”

“I swore I would take him to Athens in return for saving our lives. I can not betray him.”

“It would be no betrayal. Also, remember Minos refused to give to Poseidon what he wanted and he suffered the consequences. Let me show you the consequences of denying me.”

Jack suddenly had a vision of his ship approaching Athens with its sails up. The white sails turned a black color, the color he had promised would be used if he had died on Crete. He saw his wife Bella standing on a cliff, screaming at the sight of black sails then throwing herself off. “No!” he screamed. 

“That’s only if you refuse to do what I say. Do as I say and you will once again find yourself in her warm and loving embrace.”

Jack’s honor and love warred with each other. “You must promise that you will not kill nor harm Will if I leave him at Naxos. I know there’s an irrevocable oath gods swear, you must swear it.”

Hannibal smiled. “I swear by the river Styx that I only want the best for Will. I also swear that I have no intention of killing him. Does that satisfy you?”

“It does not but I know I have no choice. Why don’t you simply magic him off the ship?”

The smile became wider. “Because I want him to know that he has nobody else to turn to besides me. He can’t go home and after being left behind, he would never turn to you. When you wake, there will be a small but full wineskin and two cups. Have him drink from the green cup and you from the red. He will fall asleep and you can carry him off the ship.”

When Jack opened his eyes, there was a wineskin and two cups, one green and one red.

***  
Will sipped the wine in his green cup. “It’s delicious,” he said. “It’s a little strong, though. I suppose they‘ll cheer you as a great hero in Athens.”

“I suppose,” Jack grunted. “I didn’t do it for the praise. What are your plans after we reach Athens?” 

“I know how to read and write so I suppose I could tutor,” said Will. “It’s not my first choice. There is a man named Daedalus. I was a friend of his son, perhaps I could take refuge with him. He left Crete years ago. Do you happen to know where he might be?”

Jack shook his head. “I’ve heard of him, but all I know is that he‘s not in Athens.”

“That’s too bad,” said Will, his eyes closing. He felt a little embarrassed that a mere cup of wine was having such an effect on him before he fell asleep.

***

Will was about to walk along the beach.hoping to reach a fishing village before it became dark when he saw a satyr, a creature who looked like a man who had horse ears, a tail and two horse legs, play a panpipe. The song was so lovely that Will stopped to listen despite his plight. 

After the satyr finished his song, Will clapped in appreciation. The satyr did a little jump in surprise then turned to see his audience. Upon seeing him, the satyr relaxed. “Oh, I’m glad to see you.”

“It’s been a long time since anybody said that.”

“What is your name? Where are you from? I am Peter.”

“My name is Will. I don’t really have a home right now.” Even if a satyr had little interest in human affairs, he still didn't want it known that he was on Naxos. 

“You must wait here. I have to tell my master.” The satyr was wiggling his butt and shaking his tail with excitement. 

Will frowned. “Who’s your master?”

A chariot pulled by large black stag who grew feathers instead of fur appeared in the distance. The chariot was surrounded by dancing women with unbound hair, whooping and screaming with joy. This entourage was accompanied with more satyrs, who were playing flutes and cymbals. 

Will turned to the satyr. “Who is the rider of the chariot?”

“He is Hannibal, the god of wine, theater and ecstasy.”

Will made as if to hide except the satyr grabbed him by the wrist. “No, don’t go. It’s rude and he won’t like that.”

“I was told to avoid gods lest they take offense and strike you down.”

“Please stay or I shall be in trouble.”

Will sighed and sat down on a nearby rock. He felt a little amused that the satyr would find him so wondrous as to rush to tell a god about him. He decided to wait quietly until the god would ride by him, sparing at most, a glance.


	3. Chapter 3

Hannibal saw the little satyr run up to him and smiled. “What is it, Peter?”

“The man you told us to look out for is sitting on that rock.”

“I know, Peter, but thank you for telling me. What do you think of him?”

“He seems very nervous about offending a god.”

“Considering what happened between Poseidon and his father, I can see why. But he has nothing to fear,” said Hannibal. “We’ll stop to pick him up soon so just join everybody else.”

Peter nodded and joined the others in music making and frolicking.

They stopped a few feet from Will and Hannibal motioned for the revelers to stop playing and dancing, which they all did. They may have been a wild and chaotic bunch but he was their god and they dare not disobey his command. He looked at the man, who was tired and sad, and still found him beautiful. He thought how much more beautiful he would be when he smiled. “Will?”

Will looked up, surprised at his name being called. “Yes?”

“I am Hannibal. I have heard from our mutual friend that you are by yourself and that you currently do not have anywhere to go.”

“That’s true.”

“I am planning a feast. Please join us.”

“I can’t really . . .” Will’s stomach took that inopportune time to growl and make its emptiness known. 

Hannibal smiled and held out his hand. “It appears your stomach disagrees with you. Come with me unto the chariot unless you have a pressing appointment elsewhere.”

Will hesitantly took his hand and got up on the chariot with him.   
***

They drove to where there were several people already roasting a wild boar and making a large cauldron of a seafood stew. On a long rectangular table, there was already many sheets of warm flatbread and dozens of drinking cups of wine. 

“Sit next to me,” said Hannibal. “You’re my honored guest.”

“I only met you a few moments ago,” Will said.

“The length of our acquaintance does not matter. The depth of my interest does,” said Hannibal. 

“You should be careful.”

“Why is that?”

“I’d hate for you to have a quarrel with your wife or lover over being too . . . friendly.” Will remembered too many stories where Zeus would sleep with a new paramour while leaving her to face the wrath of Hera. Io was turned into a cow and plagued by a gadfly that forced to run all the way to Egypt. He had no desire to suffer a similar fate for someone else’s wandering eye.

There was a chorus of laughter and chuckles from his followers. “I have no wife nor lover to be insanely jealous at a mere expression of interest.”

Chunks of roasted boar with crispy skin were placed on their plates. A small bowl of a dipping sauce made of apples, figs, wine and honey was placed on the side. “The sauce is my own invention,” said Hannibal. “I know that many Greeks would find it decadent but I find it matches the pork.” Hannibal took a piece of flat bread, took a piece of the pork, dipped it into the sauce and held it to Will’s lips. 

Will opened his mouth and took it from Hannibal’s fingers and took his time chewing and swallowing Hannibal‘s offering. “It’s delicious.” He thought of the feasts his father would hold. This dish would have put the feast dishes to shame.

“Now you must try some of the stew. Everything was caught today.” 

“I feel terrible.”

“Why?” said Hannibal.

“I am no longer in a position to ever return your hospitality,” said Will, feeling deeply ashamed. If he was still a prince of Crete, he could one day honor him with a feast. However, right now, he didn’t even have a shack to his name.

“You can repay me by enjoying the food and drinking with me. So no more sadness,” said Hannibal. 

Besides the food, there was also various entertainments. A group of satyrs played their instruments. A juggler juggled and told witty if rather naughty stories about what the royalty of other kingdoms were doing. Several acrobats flipped and contorted themselves for their amusement. Will felt much of his melancholy slowly evaporate. 

After dinner, everybody started to drink in earnest. After the second cup, Will stopped. 

“You don’t like it?” said Hannibal. 

“It’s delicious but I don’t want to be ill the next morning. Especially since the wine has not been mixed with that much water,” said Will, surprised that more water had not been mixed with the wine to dilute its potency. It was common among Greek to drink wine diluted by three parts water to one part wine.

“I promise that you will suffer no ill effects the next morning. It is my wine, after all. So, please have another cup with me.”

“I also have a tendency of getting giggly.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing that.”

Will laughed and put his head on Hannibal’s shoulder. Hannibal put one arm around his shoulders and laughed with him .

As the sun started to set, the satyrs and maenads drifted away, some to sleep off the effects of the wine and a full belly, some to indulge in wine-fueled desire. Eventually, there was only Hannibal and Will at the empty table, which had been cleared.

“It’s getting a bit cold,” said Will as he got up from the table. Jack had left him nothing, not a sword to protect himself with nor a blanket to wrap around himself. He felt bitter that Jack still had the sword Matthew had given him, a lost memento of a life now forever gone.

Hannibal wrapped a robe around Will. “I assume you don’t have a place to sleep.”

Will said, “I don’t.”

“Let me show you something.”

Hannibal took him to a circle of trees that grew twelve feet apart from each other. Dozens of vines erupted from the ground crisscrossed between the trees as to form a strong but springy platform. Furs appeared on top of the vines forming a large comfortable expanse to sleep on. “I plan to sleep here. You’re welcome to share.”

Will hesitated. “I . . .”

“I can promise not to touch you. I will not force myself on you but . . . Is sleeping with me really so horrible a thought?”

“I’ve never slept with anybody before.”

“I see.“ Hannibal took Will’s hands in his and his thumbs made circles on the back of his hands. “Then I shall be careful with you.”


	4. Chapter 4

Hannibal kissed him while taking off his clothes. He led him to the newly created bed and motioned for him to sit down, which he did. Hannibal touched him as if memorizing him by feel, his fingertips tracing his cheekbones, his lips, his ears, his hands, his chest. They were warm and gentle hands that still managed to express hunger for the feel of his skin. “I still can not believe that nobody has ever . . .”

“Everybody else has always preferred my eldest brother. He was everything that I am not. He was gregarious, a warrior, an athlete, a hunter, my father’s favorite and heir . . .”

“Was?”

“He died a few years ago,” said Will, two tears falling down his face. “I’m sorry I . . .” As much as Will had hated how much their father favored him, his brother had not been cruel to him and Will had mourned his loss.

“No, I approve of your tender feelings for your brother,” said Hannibal before he kissed his tears away. “I am sure that he is in the Elysian fields, talking with others like him.”

“Thank you for saying so,” said Will. 

“Have you ever used a swing or a hammock?”

“Yes, I have. Why?”

Vines attached themselves to the trees far above their heads and braided themselves into the shape of a hammock style swing that rested just a few inches above the bed. “Lie down in it and relax.”

Will did so and the vines attached to the swing helped pull his thighs and calves up and apart so he wouldn’t have to expend any effort to do so. The vines then lifted him up a few feet up so he was now suspended at Hannibal‘s waist level. Will felt terribly embarrassed about feeling so exposed as Hannibal got on his knees and nuzzled and kissed his thighs and balls. He yelped when he felt one of the vines slowly enter him and felt a thick wetness drip inside him. “Hannibal?”

“Don’t worry, it’s just preparing you to receive me.” Hannibal stood up, kissed him and put a comforting hand on top of his chest, calming Will down. “It doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t.” The vine slowly grew larger and moved languidly inside of him. He began to relax though some of the trepidation returned when he saw Hannibal‘s massive erect cock. 

“Your body is the best offering I have ever seen. I will take time to appreciate it,” Hannibal said as the vine slid out to make way for its master, who entered the head of his cock in the now ready hole.

Will felt himself being slowly filled and stretched as Hannibal put his hands on Will’s thighs and pulled him closer. He thought for a second what others would think of a prince of Crete allowing himself to be penetrated in this manner, even if it was by a god. That thought was driven out of his head by the pleasure that made him curl his toes, arch his back and close his eyes. He felt a warm ecstasy that came from inside of him and made him achingly hard. He could only hold on to the vines that supported him and moan helplessly as Hannibal easily swung him back and forth on his cock. He felt vines tweaked his nipples and felt them go through his hair as if they were fingers. 

“Why are you blushing?”

“I am embarrassed.”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. You are being loved by a god. If anybody dares to mock you, I will deal with them personally.”

Will came with a yell when Hannibal wrapped his hand around Will’s cock and stroked him. Will collapsed back on the swing, exhausted and feeling as if he had just melted. 

“Go to sleep,” he heard Hannibal say and he did as he was asked.

***  
Hannibal opened his eyes and briefly wondered where Will was. He sat up and saw Will walking around the bed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for my clothes.”

Hannibal laughed at that. “Come back to bed. I’m having new ones made for you.”

Will got back into bed. Hannibal held out a gold cup. Will raised an eyebrow. “Wine?”

“No, not wine.”

“It smells sweet, like honey but not honey.”

“It’s ambrosia. It’s drink of the gods. If you drink this, you will become immortal and become a god yourself,” said Hannibal. He was puzzled when Will didn’t eagerly take the cup from him and drink. “You are not drinking.”

“Do the other gods approve of this? What will you do if they don‘t want me to be . . .”

Hannibal sighed. “The other gods will not challenge this. They too have their favorites upon which they confer this gift. I have no desire to see you age, die and become dust. Drink.”

Will took the cup from him and drank until the cup was empty. Hannibal smiled and kissed him full on the mouth once he put the cup down. He could taste the ambrosia on Will’s tongue and lips. 

“Lord!”

Hannibal turned to see Peter and some maenads carrying goatskins full of water and a tub. “Bathe him,” he said. He could easily have used his powers to make Will clean but he wanted his followers to understand that they were to serve Will as well. He also knew that his followers delighted in doing things for their god and being praised and rewarded for a job well done. 

With some mild prodding and nagging from the women, Will stepped into the tub and allowed himself to be drenched and scrubbed clean by the maenads while Hannibal watched with amusement. Once he was dried by towels, they rubbed aromatic oils into his skin and hair. 

In the meantime, Peter had run off then reappeared holding Will’s new tunic, cloak and soft shoes. “Clothe him,” said Hannibal. 

Peter quickly helped Will put on his new garments. “They suit you so well,” he said. 

“Thank you, all of you,” said Will. 

“I have one more thing,” said Hannibal as he got up and walked towards Will, holding a box in his hands. He could already see that the ambrosia was already making Will even more beautiful, reworking his body into something ageless and flawless. “Open the box,” he said as Will walked towards him. Hannibal subtly signaled for his followers to leave until he needed them again.

“It’s a crown," said Will as he took he lid off the box. It was a thin bejeweled circlet. 

“It’s for you to wear when I introduce you to the other gods. Then I will put it in the stars to show everyone that you are mine.” Hannibal took up the circlet and smiled when Will bent his head to accept it.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://youtu.be/Q67CLbac-Z8 is an age-restricted youtube vid demonstrating use of a sex swing. No actual sex but very suggestive so NSFW. Admittedly the soundtrack is super, super cheesy. I confess that many couples would probably end up in a bad mood after being unable to set up the swing since it needs to be put together. I'm actually a bit surprised this particular thing is not used more often in fic. It has been noted that it is not necessarily used to fulfill a kink but is helpful for people who have mobility/joint problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_swing 
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_Borealis is an actual Constellation. One of its origin stories is that it is the crown Dionysus gave Ariadne and he later put up in the stars in tribute to her. 
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_underworld#Elysium is for people who lived distinguished lives, an afterlife that seems enjoyable. Otherwise, the dead seemed to live a dreary, gray life. As the oldest brother had distinguished himself in sports, it is possible but not certain he could end up in Elysium.

**Author's Note:**

> http://www.william-blake.org/Inferno,-Canto-XII,-12-28,-The-Minotaur-%28Seventh-Circle%29-large.html I wasn't even looking for this but William Blake, the man who made the artwork referenced in the novel Red Dragon also did artwork regarding the Minotaur.
> 
> http://www.theoi.com/Titan/Pasiphae.html This is an interesting ancient Greek artwork of Pasiphae with the baby Minotaur on her lap. 
> 
> You can assume Beverly is one of the maidens sent as a sacrifice to the Minotaur. I also assume that the Minotaur needs more than just sacrifices to eat so he gets supplemental feedings between sacrifices. 
> 
> Is Matthew Icarus? Yes. 
> 
> I like to think that Will would feel some sympathy for the Minotaur as much as he hates it for being what it is and taking his mother away from him. It is literally born a monster and being enclosed in solitary confinement and fed raw human meat leaves it with little reason to behave in any other way. 
> 
> As an aside, it is pretty weird when Homer talks abut wine-colored seas. http://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/20/science/homer-s-sea-wine-dark.html


End file.
